State to appeal judgment in Foy case to Supreme
Court

THE STATE has decided to appeal the judgment in the Foy case,
where the High Court declared that a person who underwent a sex
change had the right to have his or her new identity recognised in
official identity documents.

Dr Lydia Foy, who was registered as a boy at birth and
subsequently underwent gender realignment surgery, made legal
history last October when she obtained a declaration that certain
provisions of the Civil Registration Act, governing the issuing of
birth certificates, were incompatible with the European Convention
on Human Rights.

The court found it violated her right to respect for her private
life under Article 8 of the convention as it did not provide for
"meaningful recognition" of her new gender identity.

This was the second time Ms Foy's case came before the High
Court. In 2002 Mr Justice McKechnie refused her application to have
her birth certificate altered, finding she had been born a boy, but
urged the Government to review the position of transgendered
people.

Two days later the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg
found in favour of a British transsexual, Christine Goodwin, who
had claimed the UK's refusal to allow her to amend her birth
certificate violated her convention rights.

Ms Foy then brought a fresh case to the High Court, based on the
jurisprudence of the Strasbourg court.

Two weeks ago the High Court made the formal declaration of
incompatibility with the convention of the Irish legislation, the
first ever under the Human Rights Act, which incorporated the
convention into Irish law.

Under the Act Ms Foy is also entitled to seek compensation for
the violation of her convention rights. She has already been
awarded her legal costs by the court.

Mr Justice McKechnie granted a two-month stay on the declaration
to allow the State time to consider whether it wished to appeal his
ruling to the Supreme Court. A Government spokesman confirmed that
the State lodged an appeal yesterday.

Mr Justice McKechnie indicated in his judgment that one means of
bringing the State into compliance with the convention would be to
introduce laws similar to the UK's Gender Recognition Act.